


Reminiscing for the Future

by TheRoseDuelist



Series: The Lost Triad Saga [8]
Category: Choices: Hero (Visual Novel), Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 13:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20779160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRoseDuelist/pseuds/TheRoseDuelist
Summary: Poppy heads to her college reunion and reconnects with a friend while mourning another.





	Reminiscing for the Future

Poppy hadn’t wanted to go to her college reunion. She knew it would only remind her of Cassandra. Although it was a year since her disappearance — because it was a disappearance, there was no sign that she had died so she definitely wasn’t giving up hope — Poppy still sorely missed her best friend.

WELCOME BACK TO HARTFIELD!

Poppy sighed and walked under the balloon archway into the busy campus square. Everywhere she turned, she saw old friends reuniting: embracing, squealing, chattering. A twinge twisted inside Poppy, drenched with grief. How could she be excited to reunite with old classmates when everywhere she turned she was reminded that her best friend was gone? It was hard to feel that same excitement without Cassandra by her side.

All the same, she was here and she would have fun. Besides, she wasn’t just here for play, but also for work.

She’d managed to convince her boss to let her write a piece — her very first piece — and she had pitched, “what to wear to your college reunion”. Poppy was actually excited about it. She’d chosen a yellow flowery sundress for the occasion since it was in the high 70s. She’d paired it with a matching earring and necklace set with black wedges. With a slight brush of blush and light brown lipstick, she couldn’t help but feel like she had put together the perfect ensemble (if she did say so herself). Even Dax had complimented her appearance — he was doing his best to try and learn what exactly her job entailed, and for a completely left-brained scientist, he was doing pretty well.

Immediately, she wished he was there with her. But he was holed up in the lab with Grayson, doing a few tests on the prism gate. They did it once a month, and only once a month. Grayson didn’t want to end up like his father, obsessed with getting it to work, but he didn’t want to give up hope on Cassandra.

She agreed with the sentiment. But she never went to the tests. If she were being honest, which she only was to herself, the prism gate creeped her out.

None of that mattered right now.

Meandering through the quad, Poppy headed for the tent set up specifically for her class reunion. Way more people that she imagined showed up. And with so many different outfits. One guy had paired a Hawaiian shirt with bright neon green cargo shorts with swans on them. That was a fashion disaster. Had he looked in the mirror before heading out? That was definitely going in the article. She giggled.

And sighed.

She wished that Cassandra was here to witness the absolute travesty in front of her.

“Poppy?”

Poppy span around to see a young brunette woman, her hair tied in a long braid, slung over her shoulder, wearing a pink sundress walking over.

“Sienna! Oh my gosh, you look so cute!” Poppy cheered.

They embraced, both grinning from ear to ear. Finally, Sienna stepped back. “I heard you were a junior fashion editor and you definitely fit the part. You look so stylish!”

“Thank you, thank you.” Poppy twirled. “I feel like for reunions you definitely have to be on point.”

“I agree. Mainly if you’re trying to impress someone.”

“Oh are you?” Poppy raised an eyebrow.

Sienna shook her head. “No way. I don’t have any time for romance. My residency is my life. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She beamed.

“Same here.” Poppy leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “I’m actually on assignment right now. I’m writing an exposé on what to wear and...what not to if you get what I mean.” She tilted her head in the direction of the Hawaiian shirt guy.

Sienna gasped and shook her head. “You’re going to have a field day.”

They laughed.

“So what are you going to get up to at this reunion weekend?” Poppy asked as they ambled towards the check-in desk.

“I was looking at the schedule online. I thought I’d check out the new science building presentation in a few hours. See what equipment all the new kids get to use and make myself jealous.”

They perused the table of name tags and each found theirs, easily extracting them from the rows of other sparkly penned tags.

“Where is your residency again?” Poppy asked as she affixed the name tag to her purse strap. She wasn’t about to let the name tag disrupt her ensemble.

“Edenbrook. It’s in Boston.”

“Wow! And you flew all the way here?”

“I wanted to see everyone. And get out of the hospital.”

“Wanna grab a drink and catch up?” Poppy pointed at the nearby open bar. “I’m on a junior editor budget so I have to take advantage of free stuff.

“I’m right there with you, buried under all my school loans.”

After each grabbing a glass of white wine, the two meandered over to a bench on the outer edge of the quad, under a large tree. One of the few shady spots on the vast field.

“Oh man, this reminds me of all the times we’d picnic here between classes!” Sienna clinked glasses with Poppy and sipped.

“Remember that awful gen ed humanities class we took?” Poppy mused.

“The professor was so sexist! Ugh, I still remember when he made the case that women should go back to being housewives because the younger generations were too rebellious and needed to be taught better values.”

“You let him have it. I still remember.” Poppy laughed, running a hand through her hair. “The entire class went silent when you shut him down.”

“I couldn’t let him get away with it!”

“I was dying but Cassandra was shrinking in her seat.”

“I apologize for nothing,” Sienna responded with a smug smile and gulped down her wine. “Say, where is Cassandra?”

“She’s...on a business trip, unfortunately.” Poppy frowned, skirting the question and drinking her wine as well. “She wanted to be here though.”

“Give her my best when you see her next, will you?”

“Totally!” Her voice sounded more enthusiastic than it should’ve, but Sienna didn’t seem to notice to Poppy’s relief.

“Hey whatever happened with that guy...Grayson? He was two years ahead of us but I swear to god he had a thing for Cassandra.” Sienna pondered, tapping her lips with her index finger.

“Ohhhh yeah.” Poppy smirked, “They are definitely having a thing. I think at the last gala his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw her dress.”

It wasn’t a lie. At least she could gossip with Sienna about her favorite couple. If Cassandra returned, Poppy would demand that she plan Cassandra’s and Grayson’s first official date. And obviously Cassandra’s outfit.

Not if. When. When Cassandra returned.

Poppy ignored the ripple of guilt splashing through her and plastered on a smile. “I’m sure that they’re going to be official soon. One of them will eventually make the first move to official status.”

“Good, I’m glad. They were totally cute together, though Cassandra was kind of oblivious back then.”

“Tell me about it. I think it finally became clear when she started working for him as his assistant.”

“No way!” Sienna’s eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. “She works as his assistant? That is soooo Fifty Shades of Grey. Without the creepy billionaire part obviously. But still!”

“Right?! Workplace romance cliche to the max.” Poppy said. “But they’re made for each other. Seriously.”

“We have one of those at Edenbrook. My friend — she’s also my roommate — has something with one of our attendings.”

“Ooooh. Now that’s scandalous.”

“Yeah but it’s not nearly as fun. It’s super angsty.” Sienna sighed and leaned back against the bench. She turned her face upward and closed her eyes. “They aren’t together. I mean, they had a moment, and I know they both have feelings for each other but they’re not acting on it ‘cause of the whole boss/employee thing.”

“That sounds sad.”

“Yeah.” Sienna shook her head and met Poppy’s eyes. “Anyway, not to bring down the mood or anything. I’m still excited to be here!”

The conversation switched topics, and they focused on reminiscing more about their college days. The freshman parties they would go out to with their dormmates. How Cassandra was scandalized by the first frat party where everyone dressed up in lingerie. Sienna’s first time being sexiled by her roommate and spending the night on Poppy and Cassandra’s floor. Poppy dating an upperclassman basketball player and getting them into the coolest parties. The three of them and a few other friends pulling an all-nighter to write philosophy papers and meeting two upperclassman guys doing the same thing (and one of them was Grayson).

Soon two hours ticked by and they both found themselves bubbling with joy from reconnecting.

Sienna checked her phone. “Alright, I’m going to check this building out then rush to the airport.” Sienna got up.

“You’re leaving right after!?” Poppy jumped up, surprised.

“Yup! Gotta make it back for rounds at six am on Monday. So I need to get some rest.”

“Wow, I’m impressed by your resilience.”

“It was so great seeing you, Poppy. Let’s keep in touch this time.” Sienna wrapped her in a hug.

Poppy returned it with a squeeze before separating. “Totally. And maybe I can come to visit you in Boston when you have a day off!”

“Definitely. I’ll be counting on it. See ya!” Sienna waved and skipped away.

A breeze whistled by, picking up stray strands of hair. Pushing them behind her ear, Poppy ambled back through the quad, looking left and right, eyes wandering over former students and the buildings she had frequented over five years ago. Eventually, she took a seat next to the fountain in the square. So many times she and Cassandra had sat in that very bench, venting about a class or pining after boys or wondering about what the future held for them.

Frowning, she thumbed the fabric of her dress, memories flooding through her. Then her mind stopped on one.

It was the month before graduation. The moon was high in the sky, the night just warm enough to be comfortable. Side by side, the best friends sat silently, watching the blue water pour from the fountain into the pool below.

“Do you think we’ll stay friends? After we graduate?” Poppy asked.

“Of course!” Cassandra exclaimed.

“How do you know? We might end up going to separate places. Across the country and never see each other.” Poppy mumbled and looked down at her hands.

“Poppy, we’re best friends. Even if we aren’t always talking, we’ll think of each other. That doesn’t just go away.” Cassandra lay a hand on Poppy’s shoulder.

“I know, it just makes me nervous.”

“We’ll always pick up where we left off even if we don’t talk. Which we will.”

“It’s just weird to think we might not be in each other’s lives.”

“I know. But we can’t just not live our lives because we’re afraid of that. Besides, the more adventures we have, the more we can tell each other, right?”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

“Poppy, you’re my best friend. That’s never going to change. Trust me. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.” Poppy looked up at Cassandra and smiled.

“Always.” Cassandra grinned and nudged Poppy’s shoulder.

The memory retreated into the back of her mind and Poppy gazed up at the afternoon sky. She’d keep waiting for Cassandra to return. In the meantime though, she’d go on with her life. Because time didn’t stop, and Cassandra wouldn’t want her to either.

So Poppy stood and strolled back towards her reunion tent, eager to reconnect with other classmates, reminisce on times past, and make plans for the future.


End file.
